Albor Tholus is an

extinct volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

in the volcanic province

Elysium Elysium (, ), otherwise known as the Elysian Fields ( grc, Ἠλύσιον πεδίον, ''Ēlýsion pedíon'') or Elysian Plains, is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philos ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. It lies south of the neighbouring volcanoes Elysium Mons and

Hecates Tholus Hecates Tholus is a Martian volcano, notable for results from the European Space Agency's Mars Express mission which indicate a major eruption took place 350 million years ago. The eruption created a caldera 10 km in diameter on the volcano's ...

. Albor Tholus is 4.5 kilometresHRSC Bildserie #011 - Albor Tholus (Mars Express Orbit 0032); Gruppe Fernerkundung der Erde und der Planeten an der FU Berlin
/ref> high and has a diameter of 160 km at its base. Its large

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

, having a diameter of 30 km and a depth of 3 km, is deep compared to calderas on the Earth. The elevation of the lowest level of the caldera is the same as the base of the volcano; however, the original lower slopes of Albor Tholus may have been covered by lava flows from its larger neighbor, Elysium Mons. Evaluations by the Mars probe

Mars Express ''Mars Express'' is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The ''Mars Express'' mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally ref ...

found that the volcanoes of the Elysium region were active over long periods. Image:MOLA albor tholus.jpg, Topography of Albor Tholus and its neighborhood. Image:Albor Tholus with THEMIS.JPG, Albor Tholus as seen by THEMIS. The area has undergone extensive faulting.

References

External links

Albor Tholus with Google Mars
Volcanoes of Mars Mountains on Mars Extinct volcanoes Elysium quadrangle {{Mars-stub